For example, an intake apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes a valve that communicates and blocks an inlet passage. According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,130 (JP-A-2003-509634), a bearing unit accommodates a flap. The bearing unit is in a substantially C-shape, and has a resilient structure. The flap accommodated in the bearing unit radially expands the bearing unit. The flap is rotatable resiliently in the bearing unit.
In this structure, the bearing unit and the flap are individually formed, and subsequently, the flap is assembled to the bearing unit. For example, when the bearing unit is provided to a four-cylinder engine, four bearing units are assembled individually to four intake passages of the engine. Subsequently, a metallic shaft is assembled to the bearing units for rotatably supporting flaps. The shaft penetrates four of the bearing units. The manufacturing process of this intake apparatus includes forming the bearing units and flaps, assembling the flaps to the bearing units, and inserting the shaft through the bearing units. In this structure, manufacturing process is complicated.